The Old World
> Gujarat & Indus Valley Civilization
Indus Valley Civilization was one of the worlds
first great civilization. It is also known as Harappan civilization.
In Gujarat Rangpur in Limdi Taluka of
Ahmedabad district was the first site which was reexcavated after independence as it was
suspected to be a Harappan outpost. Rangpur represented a late phase of the mature
Harappan culture. Further surveys of the peninsulas of Saurashtra and Kutch and mainland
of Gujarat from 1954 to 1958 brought to light different phases of the Harappan
civilization and thereby added a new province to the Indus Empire.
The discoveries extended the civilization
by 500 Km upto the north of the river Kim where another small Harappan part, Bhagatrav,
gives access to the agate bearing mines and forest hills of the Narmada Topi Valleys.
Around 2500 B.C., the Harappans probably
started infiltrating into Kutch and settled down there with an amazing speed and strength.
So far 60 Indus settlements have been found in Kutch. Out of them about 40 belong to the
early phase and the remaining represent the late phase of the mature Harappan
culture.
Only five settlements of the early
phase continue into the late phase and the remaining are new settlements
of the late Harappans.
On the basis of general evidence coming up
from Kutch and parts of Gujarat it appears that the Harappans brought here their full
blown culture and lived almost a full life before their culture declined large scale
migration from Kutch to the hinterland of Gujarat and also perhaps
Saurashtra.
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